Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Perfect Prep Machine: Hot on the heels of the Sophie The Giraffe mould scare, distressed parents say the popular Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine can sometimes attract a black substance in its hoses. They’re very worried about what this could mean for their babies, health-wise.

Black hoses?

The Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Perfect Prep Machine – which retails at around $190 AUD – is designed to help busy parents safely and seamlessly prepare formula feeds, but it seems some units have issues with the inner workings.

Anecdotes from parents, shared on social media, explain that a black substance is building up in the product’s hoses. It’s a worrying development that’s concerning both parents and the product’s maker.

Tommee Tippee are taking these concerns very seriously, launching an investigation and issuing a statement to parents via their Facebook page.

They mention the machine’s pipes “not being clean” and a “build up” but avoid mentioning the widely documented black substance.

Tommee Tippee’s Statement

“Over the weekend, we’ve received comments from parents referring to the internal pipes of their Perfect Prep Machine not being clean. We’re concerned by the findings mentioned in the post and are investigating.”

“To help us do this, we’d like parents who’ve found similar build-up to contact us as soon as possible, so we can arrange to have your machine and filter returned to us via Freepost for examination. Until we’ve investigated, it’s hard to determine the cause, but we’d advise anyone with concerns to contact us via our Careline on 0500 97 98 99.”

Health implications?

The widely-shared Facebook statement attracted over 4000 comments, some singing the machine’s praises, but many flagging their machines have the suspect black stuff in the hoses (with photos to prove their claims).

Parent are extremely worried that the substance might be contributing to their babies ill health and felt let down by a brand they trusted.

“I have cut one of the pipes open and the water that came out had black floaters in it. Baby has had bronchiolitis three times. I’ve had mine 9 months and the descale warning light has never come on,” one mum wrote.

“Saw this post this morning and horrified to find the mould that was in the tubs of my Prep machine. I put a cotton bud in the tube and disgusted to see what came out! My daughter has been ill for months and this could be the cause? I’m beyond disappointed and will never EVER use anything from this company again,” another posted.

“Mine seems to be fine but I’m a bit reluctant to use it now as well as my baby being prem I don’t want to use anything that could cause problems. It’s such a help with 2 hourly feeds too,” one mum wrote.

What now?

Tommee Tippee have set up an FAQ page on their website for concerned parents and will continue to investigate the issue until they definitively know the cause.

“Our preliminary investigation has found two things. Firstly, the build-up we’ve seen so far we suspect is carbon residue and not mould. Carbon is a harmless, inert bi-product of the filtration process,” a Tommee Tippe spokesman said, according to the BBC.

“Secondly, some parents have told us they’ve used ordinary water jug filters instead of the Tommee Tippee filters. Standard filters do not contain the ultra-filtration membrane needed to remove bacteria, plus are more likely to release carbon into the system.”

“Although we can’t be certain until we’ve received back and examined more machines, it is possible these factors are linked to what people are seeing. However, the investigation will continue until we’ve found answers,” the Tommee Tippee spokesman explained.

Do you have one of these machines? Is this an issue you have encountered?